Sometimes, you find beauty when you least expect it. Looking for inspiration, I did a quick search tonight for something blue on cargoh.com… and look what I found!
This gorgeous mosaic ring is made of blue stained glass, and is just one of the many colourful pieces in Aimee Mitchell’s shop.
I also really love the Creamsicle ring, where she used recycled glass placed vertically in the ring base – the texture and colour is fantastic!
Aimee lives in Vancouver with her husband and her little Jack Russell (who’s name is Mini – love it!). She has a couple of shops online featuring her jewellery and accessories, but she also has stained glass art pieces that are really gorgeous. I’m a sucker for funky accessories that add a bit of interest to a boring “jeans and t-shirt” day running around with the kids… which is why I think my favourite piece of hers is this stunning belt buckle:
You can find more examples of Aimee’s work in her Cargoh shop, in her jewellery Etsy shop or her art shop.
Cheers,
~Sarah
My personal style is pretty simple, but I like to splash it up with a special detail here and there… a simple dress with an unusual back detail, or a gorgeous ring to add a little pizazz to jeans and t-shirt.
So, when I saw the rings at Brilliance Found, I stopped and did a double-take. This floating butterflies piece is so lovely, and I’m not sure that I’m going to be able to resist buying it (my budget is arguing with me!)
The artist is Nyne, and she is currently living in Vancouver, having just escaped the cowboys and spring snowstorms of Alberta back to her hometown! From her designs, it’s clear that Nyne is a creative spirit who takes inspiration from nature and the world around her – many of her pieces feature leaves, butterflies, flowers and even this spectacular dragonfly:
Lest you think her shop is filled only with gorgeous rings, let me show you my favourite necklace:
And for something completely different… this felted flowers necklace!
Nyne has a history of creating specialized jewellery pieces for your specific needs, too – sensitive skin options, earrings for un-pierced ears that don’t look anything like your Grandma’s clip-ons as well as large gauge earrings. You can find her all over the internet with a shop at Artfire and Etsy, as well as on her blog, Facebook and Twitter!
Enjoy,
~Sarah
As I mentioned on Monday, our family spent some time in Waterton Lakes National Park last week. The scenery is stunning, and without a doubt has inspired some great artists. I mean, honestly. This was the view from about 100 feet away from our campsite:
Mt. Blakiston
So, as I walked the streets of Waterton Village with my family, I came across the Lost Art Jewelery studio. I was struck immediately by a couple of rings in the display window and managed to convince my very hungry family to wait for a couple of minutes while I looked around. Such gorgeous pieces, created right in the on-site workshop with the artist, David Sommerfeld, often on hand to answer questions or offer a consultation for custom work.
Unfortunately, I didn’t have my camera with me at the time, so you’ll just have to pop over to the Lost Art Jewelery gallery to take a look at some of his stunning work. Here’s an example from the site, but the gallery is full of rings, earrings, pendants, hair pieces and more.
I was so pleasantly surprised to find pieces of such quality in tiny little Waterton with a population 2,000 in the summer months, a mere 50 in the winter! Mr. Sommerfeld uses traditional direct metal work techniques to create his pieces (rather than molds), with Canadian diamonds, Alberta ammolite and other fine gems. I wanted to get back to the studio to speak with him myself before we left (that very hungry baby didn’t allow much browsing time during our first visit!), but the next time I dropped by the shop, the sign on the door said that he’d gone out “for some fresh air”. There’s plenty of that in Waterton, and I’m sure that fresh air helps to inspire his fresh designs.
If you’re ever in southern Alberta, do take some time to visit Waterton and the Lost Art studio!
Cheers,|
~Sarah
